A candle lights the heart

Every Memorial Day thousands of people come together at a beach in Honolulu, Hawaii to float candle-lit lanterns as an homage to loved ones who have passed away. While the ritual originates in Buddhist tradition, the event is for people of all beliefs. Against the backdrop of this highly emotional event, A CANDLE LIGHTS THE HEART follows five stories of loss, grief, compassion, redemption and, finally, peace: a family who lost its young son to cancer; a couple who lost their son in the Iraq war; a woman who lost a dear friend in the devastating Japanese tsunami; a husband who lost his wife to cancer and the children who lost their mother; and lastly a couple who lost their son in a fatal skateboard accident.
Lantern Floating Hawaii is an annual event that attracts well over 40,000 attendees, Each floating lantern has its own story, usually tinged with pain and grief. This touching documentary shows that through loss, there is recovery and remembrance, as memories live on like the ebb and flow of the ocean. As a symbolic or spiritual ceremony of closure, thousands of lanterns float to their intended destination, home. (Hawaii International Film Festival)